Why Include a “Love Letter” in Your Offer?

San Francisco Real Estate Podcast with Durwin Cheung

If you want to reinforce your offer as a buyer, write a “love letter” to go along with it to let the seller know who you are and why you’d be a great candidate to buy their house.

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Whenever one of my buyers writes an offer for a house, there’s a “love letter” attached to it. What is a real estate love letter, though? Why should you consider writing one when trying to buy a house?
This kind of letter tells the seller who you are—your background, why you’re interested in the house, etc. Sometimes, I even see pictures attached to these types of letters. This way, the seller gets a better idea of who’s buying their house, whether or not they’ll be able to take good care of it, and other things of that nature.
This letter is all the more important nowadays because buyers and sellers don’t meet as often as they used to. Without a love letter, all a seller sees is a purchase agreement and its terms. Just to be clear, the purchase price and terms are the most important parts of an offer, but you should still write a love letter because it might give you the nod over another prospective buyer in a multiple offer situation.

Without a love letter, all a seller sees is a purchase agreement.

For example, if you and another buyer write two offers for the same property and the prices and terms are the same, the seller might accept yours because they know who you are and know you spent the time to write the letter in the first place. In their eyes, you probably care about the house a little bit more.
These letters don’t need to be five-pages essays. Just write a simple, one-page letter and you’ll be fine.
If you have any questions about this topic or you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the San Francisco area, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you.